Abstract
The
main purpose of this article is twofold:
(a)
to expose the barbaric actions of Qaddafi’s regime. And
(b)
to illustrate the hypocritical nature of his system
in
the case of the eradicating torture and the cruel, inhuman or degrading
punishment of the prisoners of conscience in Libya.
And
one of the best ways to accomplish this is to compare The rhetoric of
Qaddafi about the respect for, and observance of human rights and the
reality of the situation in Libyan prisons.
The
article will focus only on one aspect of this issue, namely, the common
practices of torture in the prisons of Libya since 1970.
The
article begins by describing the main International treaties, covenants,
and conventions concerning eradicating torture and prosecuting alleged
perpetrators..
The
article, then, cites the main physical and psychological methods of
torture that have been used and also the false charges to justify their
use?
The
article, concluded by emphasizing that torture is the major (and maybe
the only) accomplishment To Qaddafi’s regime in the last thirty nine
years.
Theatrically, Qaddafi’s regime has supported and accepted all
International treaties, covenants, and conventions that deals with
prohibiting all kinds of torture. To illustrate this point let me cite
some articles of these treaties which Gaddafi’s regime has accepted and
promise to respect. Article 5 (a) of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights states that "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." In addition to this
article Libya is also is a party to the U.N. Convention Against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment that
became effective 26 June 1987. Article 1 (1) of this convention defines
the term torture to mean:
"Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental,
is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining
from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him
for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having
committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any
reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering
is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or
acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official
capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from,
inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions;"
Article 2 (1) of this convention also states that: "Each State Party
shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other
measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its
jurisdiction.” And article 4 (1) of this convention emphasizes that:
"Each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offences
under its criminal law. The same shall apply to an attempt to commit
torture and to an act by any person which constitutes complicity or
participation in torture;” And article (15) of this convention states
that: "each State Party shall ensure that any statement which is
established to have been made as a result of torture
shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings, except against a
person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was made."
Despite all of these articles and others, which Qaddafi supported and
approved, the reality is that all political prisoners, without
exception, were subjected to torture and ill-treatment in Qaddafi's
prisons. The security personnel in Libya tortured prisoners, sometimes
publicly and even on television, during interrogations and for
punishment.
Prisoners of conscience have been commonly tortured in Libya to make
them sign false confessions to incriminate themselves, to give
information, to mention names or other political activities, to force
others to confess, and as a simple and effective means to humiliate,
intimidate, and subdue them in custody. In Libya today, there are more
than thirty-nine (39) common techniques of physical and psychological
torture.
The
following are just examples of these common techniques:
I. Physical Torture:
1.
Kicking: It is a kind of beating with a heavy cable or a high-pressure
hose on all parts of a detainee’s body. This kind of kicking included
all prisoners whether they were Libyans or foreigners.
2.
Beating (known as Al-Falaka) : It is a method of torture by which the
prison guards wilI do sustained beating on the soles of the feet while a
prisoner lying down on his or her back. Qaddafi’s regime has been very
creative in this kind of torturing It has new machines that enable the
prison guards to put a prisoner’s feet into a machine and it, in turn,
will finish the job. The only thing a guard needs to do after setting
the prisoner’s feet in the machine, is to sit up the time and the number
of blows on the soles of the feet.
3.
Whipping: It is a method of torture by which the prison guards will
whip the back of a detainee while tied up into a wall.
4.
Standing: It a method of torture by which the prison guards will force
a detainee to stand on the toes, then leaning against a wall for
prolonged periods supported only by the index fingers.
5.
Submerging: It is a method of torture by which the prison guards will
put or sink a prisoner below the surface of water (usually dirty water)
until near suffocation.
6.
Forcing: It is a method of torture by which the prison guards will force
a prisoner to spend the night in a ditch filled with human excrement and
heavy bricks above heads while remaining in an upright position until
collapsing.
7.
Stripping: It is a method of torture by which the prison guards will put
a prisoner into a cell (in Arabic called: Zinzanna) -- a small, dark,
punishment cell used for solitary confinement--where he is held for many
days, sometimes kept in iron shackles usually attached to his ankles and
injured by chafing or while the shackles were hammered into place or
pried apart.
8.
Extinguishing cigarettes It is a method of torture by which the prison
guards will put out their cigarettes that are burning on the skin of a
detainee.
9.
Depriving of medicine: It is a method of torture to deprive a detainee
from any medical treatment for serious illnesses or for injuries
resulting from torture. For instance, the Amnesty International Report
in 1997 cited the following case: “Jum'a Ateyqa, a lawyer, remained in
administrative detention at Abu Salim Prison. He is a diabetic and was
suffering from unspecified liver problems. They tortured him by
depriving him from his medications. He had been arrested in 1989 in
connection with the murder of a Libyan diplomat in Rome, Italy, in
January 1985, but was acquitted by a criminal court in Tripoli in 1990.
Jum'a 'Ateyqa had been living in exile until 1988, when he returned to
Libya following a general amnesty issued by Qaddaf ”
10.
Depriving of food. It is a method of torture to deprive a detainee of
food for several days (AI Report, 1985, p. 66). It has been reported
that “Deprivation of food and water is very common tool of torturing
prisoners in Libya”
11.
Depriving of sleep. It is a systematic sleep deprivation including
forced standing for five to six hours alternating with sitting, over a
period of days or even weeks.
12.
Depriving of water. It is a method of torture to deprive a detainee of
drinking water for several days.
13.
Leaking: It is a method of torture which force a detainee to sit under a
leak from a ceiling for hours, while the drops of water fill on the top
of his head, and sometimes for the whole night.
14.
Dragging a detainee behind a car. It is a method of torture by which the
prison guards will tie up a detainee with a rope behind a car and drag
him around.
15.
Chaining: It is a method of torture by which the prison guards will
chain a detainee to a wall for hours.
16.
Pouring: It is a method of torture by which the prison guards will pour
lemon juice in open wounds and allowing the wounds to heal without
medical care.
17.
Breaking fingers. It is a method in which a detainee fingers will be
broken and allowing the joints to heal without medical care.
18.
Corkscrewing: It is a method of torture by which the prison guards will
apply corkscrews to the back of a detainee and allowing the wounds to
heal without medical care.
19.
Shocking: It is a method of torture by which the prison guards will
apply electric shock to a detainee’s body. For instance, in October
(1997) the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, an Ethiopian non-governmental
organization, wrote to the Libyan authorities calling for an
investigation into the alleged torture of eight Ethiopian prisoners;
they reported that they had been subjected to electric shocks. Another
instance cited by Human Rights Watch, in 2006, stated that: “I confessed
during torture with electricity. They put small wires on my toes and on
my thumbs. Sometimes they put one on my thumb and another on either my
tongue, neck or ear,”Valentina Siropulo, one of the Bulgarian
defendants, told Human Rights Watch. “They had two kinds of machines,
one with a crank and one with buttons.”
20.
Suffocating It is a method of torture by which the prison guards will
suffocate a detainee with plastic bags.
21.
Hanging It is a method of torture by which the prison guards will hang a
detainee by the wrists, suspension from a pole inserted between the
knees and elbows.
22.
Attacking by dogs: It is a method of torture in which a detainee being
exposed to aggressive dogs resulting in bite wounds.
23.
Placing in coffin: It is a method of torture by which the prison guards
will place a detainee in a coffin as a form of intimidation during at
least one interrogation session.
24.
Keeping in dark: It is a method of torture in which a detainee is kept
in a basement and without any light for months. And sometimes being held
in underground cells so that prisoners are unable to lie down or to
stand up fully, unsanitary, without any light, and extremely poorly
ventilated with food reportedly being very poor and prisoners being
denied exercise, visits, or correspondence. For instance, in Abu Salim
prison it has been documented that is has underground rooms beneath the
prison administration building which are used for interrogation.
25.
Boxing: It is a method of torture by which the prison guards will. leave
a detainee in an extremely small room that resembles a box and is forced
to sit on an uncomfortable chair for weeks, with hands tied behind the
back. This method is constantly used in Qaddafi’s prisons.
26.
Clubbing: It is a method of torture by which the prison guards will pull
off by violent means the fingers and the toes of a detainee and allowing
the wounds to heal without medical care.
II. Psychological Torture and ill
treatment:
In
addition to the above physical techniques of torture, there are
psychological techniques that have been used frequently in Libya. These
techniques include:
1.
Insulting: It is a psychological method of torture by which the prison
guards will insult a prisoner or a prisoner's family. Threats of abuse
against the prisoner and his/her family, particularly, female relatives
are a very common in Qaddafi’s prisons.
2.
Threatening: It is a psychological method of torture by which the prison
guards will charge the prisoner with a capital offense. Death threats
and threats of abuse against the prisoner and his family, particularly
female relatives.
3.
Watching: It is a psychological method of torture by which the prison
guards will make the prisoners listen to or watch others being tortured
or looking at others after torture.
4.
Destroying: It is a psychological method of torture by which the prison
guards will destroy the prisoner’s property (such as his house, car, …
etc) to deter others from doing the same.
5.
Broadcasting: It is a psychological method of torture by which the
prison guards will listen to a broadcast repeated loudly and late into
the night, taped political discourses in Abu Salim Prison where long
term political prisoners and detainees are held. This practice is
believed to be used to deprive detainees of sleep and to depress them.
6.
Parading: It is a psychological method of torture by which the prison
guards will parade the bodies of those who have been executed through
the streets of the city in where they were executed. Sometimes the
regime shows the process of execution on the television.
7.
Overcrowding: It is a psychological method of torture by which the
prison guards will put too many detainees in e very small cell. For
instance, according to reports received by Amnesty International scores
of political prisoners and detainees in Abu Salim Prison in Tripoli were
killed during a one-week mutiny which reportedly started on 5 July 1996.
The mutiny was said to have been caused by the appalling conditions in
the prison. Political prisoners had reportedly complained on a number of
occasions to the prison authorities about the lack of medical care, the
inadequate hygiene, overcrowded cells and the poor diet. Some prisoners
were said to be suffering from various diseases, including skin
diseases, and had not been treated.
8.
Forcing: It is a psychological method of torture by which the prison
guards will force detainees to read their false confession on T.V. and
Radio. These false testimonies include acknowledgment of the detainees
that they were wrong and they seek mercy from the Qaddafi.
9.
Deterring: It is a psychological method of torture by which the prison
guards will deter others, especially the detainee=s relatives, from
visiting, with his family members or helping them. Even contacting the
detainee’s family might become a crime.
10.
Humiliating: It is a psychological method of torture by which the prison
guards will force one female suspect to undress and threatening to
insert a lighted lamp into her vagina.
11.
Raping: It is a psychological method of torture by which the prison
guards will take female detainees out and raped often when the guards
tend to get drunk before the weekend on Thursday.
12.
Threatening: It is a psychological method of torture by which the prison
guards will threat a detainee of dog attacks or raping his family.
13.
Hanging: It is a psychological method of torture by which the Qaddafi’s
regime hanged some prisoners of conscience (during the holy month of
Ramadan) in order to install fear in the hearts of anyone even think to
challenge it. For instance, two students were hanged before thousands of
their fellow students at Al Fatah University in Tripoli.No explanation
was given of the charges or of the judicial proceedings.
III. Charges: What all of this for?
The
type of charges which prisoners of conscience have been charged with
include:
1.
Plotting against the regime or conspiring against the security of the
state. This means that being accused of "desertion, treason, plotting
against the internal and external security of the state”
2.
Associating: Membership in an illegal political organization, i.e., any
organization or political party not in conformity with the regime in
power. In 1984, eight people were hanged publicly following decisions of
Basic People's Congresses in their localities that they were members of
the Muslim Brotherhood.
3.
Possessing publications prohibited by the regime because they were
classified as publications undermining the basic principles of the
regime. This prohibition includes all newspapers, magazines, and books
that present different point views than what Qaddafi’s believes in. No
one can criticize the Green Book nor question what Qaddafi has said.
4.
Criticizing the public order and/or public institutions (e.g., in Iraq
the Revolutionary Command Council Resolution No. 840 prescribes the
death penalty for publicly insulting the president of the republic or
deputy, the Revolutionary Command Council, the Arab Socialists Ba'ath
party, the National Assembly, or the government with the intent of
mobilizing public opinion against the authorities.
5.
Violating: Being accused of "violation of the constitution and the
nation's economic interests." By the way, Libya does not have a
constitution since 1977.
6.
Obstructing revolutionary change (e.g., in Libya in February 1980 the
official Libyan press published a declaration issued by the Third
Meeting of the Revolutionary Committee at Gar Younis University,
Benghazi). Several passages of the declaration authorized the "physical
liquidation" of enemies of the Revolution abroad as well as of other
elements said to
be obstructing the revolutionary change in political or economic ways
Qaddafi declared that "those who are put into Jamahiriya's prisons are
there because they are the enemies of the people and they fight for
restoring the government above the people. There is no shame and there
is nothing wrong in putting these persons in prisons or in treading on
them with your feet.
7.
Spying for the interest of a foreign country.
8.
Sabotaging and possession of weapons or other materials.
IV. Conclusion
In
the conclusion of this article one might ask, why all of this torture by
the Qaddafi’s regime? The simple answer could be summarize as follows:
Gaddafi chose to treat all of his political prisoners, with no
exception, this way for many reasons such as: First, to extracted false
confessions from prisoners; to force them to give information; to force
them to mention names or other political activities; to force other
prisoners to confess; and as a simple and effective means to humiliate,
intimidate, and subdue them in custody. And second to install fear in
the hearts of all other citizens especially those who know the political
prisoners or have hearted about them.
Let
me finally conclude this article by asking all those who still want to
conduct business with the Qaddafi’s regime the following question: Isn’t
one of these crimes sufficient for a descent ruler, at least, to resign
from his office? If the answer is in the affirmative to the question,
shouldn’t all freedom loving people help the Libyan people to, at least,
eradicate torture and to prosecute all alleged perpetrators in their
home land. I believe that helping the Libyan people to accomplish this
goal is not only a matter of principle rather it is the moral thing to
do.
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